Chapter 132
After a moment of silence, Dr. Mei suddenly said, "The objective of this mission is to defend the Star of Light to the death—as long as one person is alive before Mobius succeeds, the mission will not change, understand?"
"Clear."
Everyone responded affirmatively, even Kalpas, who seemed to be asleep, nodded in agreement.
No one questioned the method used to "kill Ai Yue," because everyone agreed with Dr. Mei's words— Ai Yue's importance was paramount, and even if everyone died in this battle, it would be worth it as long as he could be brought back.
Aponia fell silent, thankful that she wasn't in front of everyone, otherwise they would have noticed something strange on her face.
Everything she said was true, except for the fact that she concealed Ai Yue's final instructions to her.
"Kill me before anyone else is in danger of being sacrificed."
The nun closed her eyes, letting herself sink into darkness.
Mobius —please, you must succeed.
In the First Research Institute, Mobius suddenly opened his eyes.
She sat up from the cold floor, panting heavily, and instinctively reached for the edge of the table, trying to stand up.
"Dr. Mobius!"
Klein's voice, a mixture of surprise and delight, came from the side, "You're finally awake! I thought..."
Don't assume that.
Mobius finally managed to reach the edge of the table with difficulty, and asked in a hoarse voice, "And the result this time?"
"No change."
Klein answered instinctively, then added, "But this can't go on. Let's try a different approach... Your resurrection time is getting longer and longer!"
"Yeah?"
Mobius paused for a moment before realizing his reflection in the black screen. "I can't believe how small I've become."
At this moment, she was no longer the mature woman she once was, and she could not even maintain the appearance of a young girl. She had shrunk to the size of a child.
"If this continues, it won't be long before you can no longer maintain your human form!"
Klein continued to earnestly advise, "When that time comes, when that time comes..."
Klein was truly terrified, because at this moment, Mobius had gone so mad that it was almost unbearable for her. More importantly, she could sense that Mobius was genuinely seeking death.
He had previously believed that he had gained infinite life and could use it to seek the secrets of human evolution, so why did he suddenly become like this?
"By then, I will probably die in some strange way."
"But Klein, if we don't do this, how can I save Ai Yue?" Mobius said calmly, a strange smile appearing on her youthful face.
Ai Yue handed over all his research on the "Stigmata Project" to Mobius, hoping that she would complete the final research and obtain the complete Stigmata.
Tragically, even though Ai Yue had paved such a smooth road, Mobius, despite trying every possible method, still found himself separated from the ending by a hair's breadth.
It was just a thin line, yet it separated heaven and hell, and proved the gap between her and Ai Yue.
If she cannot obtain the complete Stigmata, she will be unable to complete the most crucial step of the plan and snatch Ai Yue back from the Honkai. In that case, they will have to kill Ai Yue.
This outcome was unacceptable to Mobius under any circumstances. So she resorted to the most primitive, and also the most foolish, method for her.
Are the Stigmata Factor born from the struggle between life and death? Since I already possess all the necessary conditions for the birth of Stigmata, all I need to do next is experience the fear between life and death, right?
Therefore, Mobius chose to embrace death.
With each death, Mobius grew increasingly numb, and the time required for resurrection grew longer and longer, but a smile appeared more and more clearly on her face.
Because she could feel that she was gradually approaching death—and was also gradually regaining her fear of death.
"So don't stop me, Klein."
Mobius looked intently at Klein, wanting to pour all his emotions into her heart, "Come help me, I... no, we will definitely succeed."
As she spoke, she casually picked up the syringe on the table and shook the golden liquid inside. "Moreover, we can do two experiments at the same time, wouldn't that be double the efficiency?"
"I see."
Klein finally suppressed all her emotions and returned to her usual demeanor as an assistant, saying, "I'll help you."
She took the syringe from Mobius's hand, lowered her head, and carefully observed the intricate vein patterns on his skin, searching for the optimal injection site.
Mobius turned her head to look at the envelope Ai Yue had left for her.
"Hang in there a little longer."
She seemed to be talking to herself, or perhaps to someone else, "We're about to succeed."
106
Chapter 106 A mere Honkai Beast? Watch me push it back with a swarm of drones.
On the battlefield in Australia, swarms of drones are engaged in fierce combat with the Honkai Beast horde. Both sides are massive legions with a numerical advantage, and for a time it is difficult to determine a winner.
Kevin and his team finally witnessed firsthand the full power of the drone swarm.
In fact, they had received support from drone swarms during the Great Honkai of the Mu Continent, but the drones at that time numbered only tens of thousands. Therefore, although they seemed very reliable, they were not yet capable of serving as the main force on the battlefield.
This time, Queen unleashed his entire arsenal without reservation, deploying over ten million drones in a massive swarm that blotted out the sky and enveloped the entire battlefield. Compared to this scene, what they had witnessed last time was nothing more than a street brawl.
More importantly, in addition to their sheer numbers, drone swarms possess an advantage that Honkai Beast do not have—namely, the ability to think.
Relying on the Gestalt cluster consciousness of the bee swarm, Queen's commands can cover the entire swarm without delay, and there is no need to make precise and cumbersome commands. Only vague guidance is needed, and the drone's own processor can automatically convert it into precise commands.
This is similar to how a person only needs to issue the command "bend over" when they want to bend over, without needing to control the details of bones, muscles, and nerves. This can greatly reduce the burden on Queen himself, while also making the swarm's tactics more varied.
If someone were to carefully observe the situation on the battlefield at this moment, they would find that the tactics used by the drone swarms completely outclass those of human armies. Most impressively, they can execute completely different tactics in different areas, and the coordination between the smaller drone swarms in each area can be described as seamless.
Relying on this advantage, the drone swarm even gained an absolute upper hand on the battlefield at one point, not only hindering the advance of the Honkai Beast horde, but also launching a counterattack, attempting to push the battle line forward, compress the Honkai Beast horde's formation, and cause it to become chaotic and scattered.
"Wow, Queen amazing."
Seeing this, Elysia couldn't help but exclaim in surprise, "Why does it feel like we don't even need to lift a finger?"
"The Honkai Beast don't need you to deal with them."
Queen's voice remained as calm as ever, "Even in the future, combat units such as swarms of bees and Armed Doll will replace you in performing these basic combat tasks, becoming part of maintaining the order of human civilization."
"What should we do? If this continues, we'll all lose our jobs!"
Elysia immediately looked flustered, then muttered to herself, "Hmm, this doesn't seem so bad?"
Her expression was so deliberate that no one else wanted to respond to her.
"Don't be careless, things won't be that easy to resolve."
Kevin said in a low voice, "So far, those clones haven't made a move yet."
"Isn't that what we've been waiting for?"
Elysia smiled. "However, it seems they're waiting for us to make a move."
In the battlefield between the drone swarm and the Honkai Beast horde, neither the Fused Warrior nor the Herrscher clones tacitly refrained from interfering. After all, their goal was to buy time, so there was no need to rush until the situation showed a clear shift.
Moreover, if energy is wasted on clearing out the grunts beforehand, it will obviously put them at a disadvantage in the subsequent battle, something both sides want to avoid.
However, it now seems that the drone swarm has too much of an advantage. If the Herrscher clone really lets this situation continue to spread, then it won't be long before the Honkai Beast completely lose their ability to fight against the swarm.
When that time comes, the Herrscher clone will have to face a combined attack from the Fused Warrior and the drone swarm.
Clearly, the Herrscher understood this principle as well. Therefore, just as the battle line began to tilt towards the Honkai Beast, Kevin and the others saw a group of drones suddenly and silently crashing to the ground.
"It is the power of the Herrscher!"
Cosmo blurted out, "They really couldn't resist after all!"
"Prepare for battle."
Kevin frowned. "Queen, can you locate all five clones?"
"Please be patient, everyone."
Queen said calmly, "If this is all we've got, we're not going to break through our limits. Let's just let them wear each other down for a while."
"Don't worry,"
Prometheus chimed in, "The swarm also has a recycling system. Those drones affected by the Herrscher authority can be towed back, repaired, and reused."
Kevin paused for a moment, then carefully observed the battlefield in the distance. Sure enough, he saw many drones on the ground that were responsible for recovering the wreckage of damaged drones before retreating to the rear.
"No wonder the drone casualty ratio wasn't low just now, but the number didn't change significantly,"
Eden couldn't help but show an expression of admiration, "Wouldn't that allow for a near-infinite loop?"
"As long as the rate of swarm losses is controlled within a certain range, it is theoretically possible to achieve a near-infinite cycle."
Queen said, "However, according to my analysis, once the other side realizes this, they will change their strategy and start to take the initiative to attack."
By recycling the wreckage of drones and combining it with the already continuous production capacity of drone factories, as long as Honkai side cannot cause large-scale destruction in a short period of time, the swarm can theoretically grow larger and larger. From this point of view, the swarm can even be called "Honkai Beast belonging to humans".
Unfortunately, compared to Honkai Beast that can be directly extracted from Imaginary Space, the manufacture of drones still requires a certain cost, which is probably one of Queen's few disadvantages.
The Herrscher's clones quickly realized this as well. After discovering that simply damaging the drones could not turn the tide of the battle, they appeared on the battlefield almost immediately.
The next second, drones began to fall like raindrops from all around—clearly, this was the result of being enveloped by the domain created by the Herrscher clone.
At this rate of attrition, it will probably take only a few minutes for all the drones to lose their combat capability.
"No matter how many times I witness it, it still feels a bit suffocating."
Dr. Mei murmured, "Just the mere existence of the Eleventh Herrscher is enough to reverse the situation on the battlefield. Is this the power of the Eleventh Herrscher?"
"It's up to you guys now."
Queen quickly said, "We can't let them continue. Once we disrupt the hive's logistics system, the entire hive will soon fall silent."
"I see."
Kevin gripped his weapon tightly and nodded. "Everyone, let's go!"
107
Chapter 107 Are you doing somersaults here? It's all plot twists.
With the Fused Warrior and Herrscher clone joining the battlefield, the situation began to turn strange.
If the initial battle between the drone swarm and the Honkai Beast horde was like a science fiction movie about a modern army fighting alien monsters, then the current situation is like a medieval fantasy movie.
A warrior clad in armor and wielding a melee weapon, facing a "mage" in a long white coat and unarmed—it has to be said, it is indeed a bit strange.
Of course, there was nothing that could be done about it. After all, under the suppression of the five Herrscher clones, it was difficult to unleash any kind of ability. The only thing that could be relied upon was the power of the Fused Warrior himself.
Even this power began to gradually dissipate after entering the Herrscher's domain. It is conceivable that if the battle cannot be ended in a short time, the situation will only tilt infinitely in favor of the Herrscher.
Fortunately, the current situation is not all bad news for Kevin and the others.
"Although the suppression effect of the domain is much stronger than before, it is still within a tolerable range."
Feeling the power within his body, Kevin breathed a sigh of relief. "At least it shows that the Herrscher's abilities are not strong enough to create five clones like before."
The most pessimistic prediction everyone had about the current situation was that each of the five clones in front of them was as strong as the clone that Sakura had killed before. In that case, there was absolutely no chance of winning.
"According to observations, the degree of energy depletion within the region is about three times that of before."
Prometheus's voice reached everyone's ears, "Apart from Kevin, everyone else may move within this area for a maximum of fifteen minutes. Please be aware."
Kevin nodded and was about to step forward when a figure blocked his way.
Beneath the armor, Kalpas's voice rang out. "I'll go first—don't worry, I won't keep you waiting too long."
After saying this, he rushed towards the Herrscher clone without waiting for Kevin's response.
There's no such thing as a priority... Did this guy not listen at all when the tasks were assigned?
Kevin sighed inwardly, but immediately made a response. "Stop the other enemies and create an opportunity for Kalpas!"
Although Kevin didn't want Kalpas to act alone, he had to admit that this might be the best tactic for Kalpas.
This man is completely incapable of cooperating with others, but his strength is enough to qualify him to fight alone.
Even if the enemy he faces is Herrscher.
Everything happened in the blink of an eye; almost at the same time Kevin made the arrangements, the roar resounded throughout the entire battlefield.
That was the fury of Kalpas, and also a declaration to the Herrscher.